Thursday, November 22, 2018

A Thanksgiving Prayer from Henry Vaughan

These lines from my distant cousin, the Silurist Poet Henry Vaughan, match my sentiments on a Thanksgiving Day morning. From his poem, The Bee:

The truth, which once was plainly taught,With thorns and briars now is fraught.Some part is with bold fables spotted,Some by strange comments wildly blotted;And Discord—old Corruption's crest—With blood and blame hath stain'd the rest.So snow, which in its first descentsA whiteness, like pure Heav'n, presents,When touch'd by man is quickly soil'd,And after, trodden down and spoil'd.

O lead me, where I may be freeIn truth and spirit to serve Thee!Where undisturb'd I may converseWith Thy great Self; and there rehearseThy gifts with thanks; and from Thy store,Who art all blessings, beg much more.Give me the wisdom of the bee,And her unwearied industry!That from the wild gourds of these days,I may extract health, and Thy praise,Who canst turn darkness into light,And in my weakness show Thy might.

1 comment:

BTW, the religious corruption of which Vaughan complains is the Puritanism of Cromwell's dictatorship, Puritanism being the direct precussor to American Christian Fundamentalism. I, for one, will rejoice with Vaughan when White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Males are no longer in charge.

Comments are welcome. Feel free to disagree as many do. You can even be passionate (in moderation). Comments that contain offensive language, too many caps, conspiracy theories, gratuitous Mormon bashing, personal attacks on others who comment, or commercial solicitations- I send to spam. This is a troll-free zone. Charity always!

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Mission Statement:

I am pretty liberal politically. However, there is no way to classify me as a "liberal Mormon" as I choose to support all official doctrine and policy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as I fight against aspects of unofficial "cultural" Mormonism. And being passionately moderate in temperament (mostly), I still remain a Passionate, Moderate Member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. However, I have now changed the masthead in response to the presidential election of 2016. Maybe there will come a day when I can go back to moderation.

I am not an official spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and as a federal employee, I am exercising my First Amendment rights outside the workplace and official hours. Nothing I say should be considered to be the official position of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

I should also add that I do not speak for my extended family. Some of them have let me know, in no uncertain terms, that they do not share my views. Fine with me. I don't share some of theirs.

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